Paxful released today data that outlines the popularity, overall knowledge, and sentiment towards cryptocurrency amongst the Millennial and Generation Z populations in the United States. Amongst the findings, the survey shows that this generation of young early adopters believes cryptocurrency could replace traditional banking with 43.6% responding yes cryptocurrency is valid now and 26.4%, agree they will be a valid alternative in the future.
New report highlights crypto as mainstream among the next generation, peer-to-peer finance is on the rise
Data from the 2019 Cryptocurrency Among Generation Z and Millennials Survey indicate that cryptocurrency has achieved near mainstream acceptance, with additional interest in peer-to-peer interactions. While cryptocurrency is widely accepted, a lack of trust and volatility are preventing it from becoming fully mainstream.
Paxful surveyed US Adults between the ages of 18 and 42 with at least some knowledge of cryptocurrencies and found that:
What Crypto Means to Them & The Barriers
While most Millennials and Gen Z respondents exhibited awareness of different types of crypto with most having heard of Bitcoin (98.4%), Ethereum (77.4%), Litecoin (71.6%), and Ripple (47.6%), there are still some barriers to entry with the most prevalent being lack of trust (37.14%), signaling a need to do more to overcome this, with lack of interest trailing at 28.57%, volatility at 25.71%, followed by lack of understanding at 14.29% and regulation at 14.29%.
The data also shows that females have a greater lack of understanding and distrust in cryptocurrency and cite regulation and volatility as the concerns far more than males. With the current state of the ecosystem seeing the likeliness of scams and in some cases an overall lack of security protecting personal currencies from hackers, users may be warranted in these beliefs. This has presented the cryptocurrency community with the chance to overcome them through improved security and KYC programs in order to continue to strive for mass adoption.
While the obvious is true that crypto is associated with money, Millennials and Generation Z respondents also highly associate crypto with globalization (67%), and for 44.2% of respondents, peer-to-peer interactions.
Areas of Opportunity
More than half of Millennial and Generation Z respondents are interested in peer-to-peer trading as opposed to simply owning crypto or purchasing on exchanges, further signaling the importance of an interconnected, peer-to-peer society. Additionally, 21% of respondents do not have access to traditional banking, which in the USA is a very high number, making cryptocurrency an even more viable alternative to traditional banking.
More than half of respondents have purchased crypto in the past six months, a great sign for the continuous adoption of crypto. With greater understanding, crypto has great promise of becoming more mainstream.
“It’s exciting to see the near mass adoption among the younger generation in the United States,” said Ray Youssef CEO and Co-Founder of Paxful. The shift towards peer-to-peer finance signals the continued growth of the sharing economy, which cements the increased interest in a globalized world, and financial freedom for all.
“The results of the survey are extremely promising for the future of cryptocurrency. As a company, we aim to provide ways to help new users overcome the barriers to entry that are holding them back. We look forward to helping the bitcoin community grow, as we have done before, and will continue to do.” Artur Schaback, COO and co-founder of Paxful.
